Malabsorption

For a lay person:

Malabsorption means the gut cannot properly absorb nutrients such as fats, proteins, sugars, vitamins or minerals from food. It is caused by conditions such as coeliac disease, pancreatic problems or bowel disease, and leads to diarrhoea, weight loss and deficiencies.

For a trained medical person:

A syndrome rather than one disease, resulting from impaired digestion (pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, bile acid deficiency) or impaired mucosal absorption (coeliac disease, Crohn's disease, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, lactase deficiency, short bowel). Investigation includes coeliac serology, faecal elastase, nutrient levels, breath tests, imaging and small-bowel biopsy. Management treats the cause, with dietary change, enzyme replacement and nutrient supplementation.

In Chinese medicine:

Liu and Tseng's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Cold-Damp; Damp-Heat; Qi Stagnation; Spleen Deficiency; Kidney Deficiency. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: See a doctor for unexplained weight loss, ongoing diarrhoea, blood in the stool or signs of anaemia. Children with poor growth and chronic diarrhoea need medical assessment.